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Why do most Christian groups/people align themselves with the Republican party in the USA when the core beliefs of the religion seem to contradict those of the party? | For an more in-depth answer to this question, this is an excellent post: _URL_0_ |
Why do people chop wood? | It is so that the wood fits into fireplaces, cooking stoves, and so that it is easier to stack in a controlled manner. You do not want a burning log to roll out of a fire so you want to give it at least one flat side. |
Why do they remake classic/awesome movies and ruin them? Why don't they take lousy movies and remake them into something good? | It's considered too risky. If a production company has a choice between remaking a classic movie that did well or remaking a crappy movie that did poorly, they're going to go with the classic movie because it comes with guaranteed brand recognition. They don't care whether or not the movie turns out to be good, they only want to hype it up enough to get people into the theaters; that's where they make the majority of their money. It's the unfortunate result of an art form that's mostly controlled by people who aren't artists. |
Why do we make simple noises / repetitions automatically when talking to babies or small animals, such as cooing/saying hello? | Baby talk is easier for a baby to understand because it is slow, exaggerated, and uses high tones. Even before the infant can actually understand words, baby talk can teach things like turn-taking in conversation, rhythm and tones in sentences (like how your voice raises in pitch when you're asking a question), and the sounds used in your language. Slightly older babies will also notice that adults don't use baby talk with each other or older children, so they can use those sounds as a cue that you're talking to them. We do this to pets because we tend to cognitively interpret pets as babies or small children. Baby talk exists in the majority of human cultures, but not all of them, so there's a learned component to it. However, because it has many characteristics that appeal to infants, infants respond to it more strongly than normal speech, so it's strongly reinforced. |
It seems that whenever there's a mass shooting, a SWAT team arrives at the scene almost immediately. What are SWAT teams doing when there's no situation for them to be at? | Looks like it varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but it seems that they patrol like normal officers, but their gear may be kept in a special truck so they can travel directly to the scene at the same time as their equipment. _URL_0_ |
Why it is metres per second per second instead of metres per second? | 10 m/s^2 is an acceleration, not a movement, it means that for every second, it moves 10 meters per second faster. 10 m = length 10 m/s = speed 10 m/s^2 = acceleration |
What is the advantage for China to buy up other countries debts? Also, how does it work? | Saying they're buying up US debt is misleading. They're buying things known as US Treasury bonds. If you buy a bond from the US Treasury, they pay you back the amount you paid plus a little extra in a certain amount of time. China's really just buying dollars in the future. That's an important thing, that I think a lot of people don't realize. It's not like the US government just... isn't paying people 16 trillion dollars they're supposed to have. They are constantly paying off the debt; they just replace it, because lots of people want to buy Treasury bonds. |
Why do we instinctively breathe using the top half of our torso when using the abdomen is apparently healthier? | It's not actually 'wrong'. You 'use' the top half of your torso because it makes space for your lungs to expand. 'Using' your abdomen means that you are consciously focusing your breathing movements on your diaphragm, which is what actually draws your lungs in and out for you to breathe. This can be healthier because it can compress your lungs more, allowing you to push out more CO2 by emptying out your lungs more and therefore slightly increase the concentration of O2. Using the top half of your torso is intuitive because it allows you to intake more air if necessary (by expanding your chest, giving room for your lungs to expand), such as when exercising. Your body prioritizes air intake in that situation over a marginal increase in O2/decrease in CO2, because the gas ratios won't matter if you can't actually exchange the gases fast enough. It's intuitive because your body can't switch between reflexive behaviors. |
How do holocaust deniers back up their views when there is so much physical evidence, including eyewitnesses still alive, that it occurred? | Keep in mind; this is coming from a jew There are very few people who deny the holocaust completely. The thing that people doubt is the scale at which it happened, and that it was specifically targeted towards jews. They don't trust the official reports, because there's no reason they couldn't have been collectively over-exaggerated to an extreme degree (which to be fair, has happened at many points in history). Holocaust denial isnt looking away from picture evidence with their fingers in their ears, its more a systematic distrust of government data which might or might not be propaganda. I just want to clarify, I do not agree with this in the slightest. I have family that was killed in the holocaust, I have heard some of the stories first hand. But I also think people's arguments should at least be represented correctly |
the difference between a scientist and an engineer | In general, a scientist tries to push the boundaries of our understanding of things. The engineer puts our understanding of things into practice. As an example, a chemist might try to figure out why two substances react the way they do, while a chemical engineer will try to figure out a way to make a given substance. |
Why are prostate examinations done by digital penetration of the anus? Doesn't it seem archaic in the 21st century? | Believe it or not, the index finger is an extremely sensitive tool in ascertaining the size, shape, nodularity, and "sponginess" of a prostate. Physicians are specifically trained to do this. Plus, it is fairly harmless (other than the trepidation of the patient) to insert a finger into the rectum to examine/feel the prostate. Other diagnostic modalities (scopes, radiological imaging, etc...) have much more risk of damage, take longer to do, take longer to get results, and are much more expensive. The exam only takes about a minute (usually much less). Just take a deep breath and think about something else. It's really not that big a deal. Wait until you need a colonoscopy. LOL |
Why do we listen to songs that depress us when we're upset? Even though we KNOW it only makes things worse? | Does it make things worse? It's genuine psychiatric advice that sometimes you just need to feel shitty. Recognizing you're down and experience it is part of being mentally healthy, if you're always running away from unhappiness you're like to become mentally unwell. |
Why does staring at the sun make me sneeze? | Because you have a photic sneeze reflex, which about 20-30% of people have. The mechanism of action is not well understood. It's possible that wires get crossed in your brain, and that the stimulus of bright light makes your brain think there's something in your nose. |
Why do grownups throw up less than children? | Children are dirty. They don't wash their hands, they're constantly around a bunch of other children that don't wash their hands, they put things in their mouths and generally do everything you're not supposed to do if you want to avoid sickness. They also have developing immune systems that haven't developed antibodies to common illnesses. |
What happens to someone's money if they get put into an asylum or diagnosed with a serious mental illness? | If someone is found to be legally incomponent, a guardian, usually a family member, is appointed to look after their affairs. |
Why certain checks expire. | All checks expire. It forces people to be prompt about cashing checks. Otherwise, every company could have thousands of dollars of uncashed checks floating around, meaning they have to keep tons of extra money in their checking account just in case. True, most wage workers aren't going to forget to cash a check, but it's certainly possible for a check to fall through the cracks somewhere, get lost, etc. If you do lose a check for 91 days, you are still entitled to the money - you just need to tell the company that you lost the check and need ti reissued. They might be cranky with you, but they will cut a new check. |
Why phones can have 8 cores and sometimes more but even most high end computers half only 4 cores. | All cores are not created equal. The cores in phones are generally ARM-based cores, which are optimized for small size, low cost, low power consumption, and OK processing power. In a PC, they are x86-based cores, generally optimized for processing power. In addition to the correct answers given by /u/rhomboidus and /u/ameoba , I'll point out that most PC cores are dual-threading, which (kind of) means that they act like two cores in one. So a PC with 4 cores can handle as many processes as an 8 core ARM device, but the x86 cores will do their jobs more quickly. |
Why does mixing lights result in a different color than mixing paint? | Mixing light together is simple addition. Adding red light to green light gives you yellow light, add in blue and get white light. Paint, on the other hand, is about absorption and reflection. Yellow paint absorbs blue light, and reflects red and green. Red paint absorbs green and blue light, and reflects red. Mix them together and you get a paint that absorbs blue light, absorbs half of green light and reflects the other half, and reflects red: orange paint. |
Why is it quieter to pee on the side of the toilet bowl than it is to pee directly on the toilet water | Peeing on the side, you are hitting bowl at an angle which reduces the force with which the steam hits it. Peeing inside the bowl, the stream is hitting water at almost 90 degrees which means that the force is at its greatest. Simple rules of trigonometry. |
Why do people still fall for pyramid schemes or MLM's? | the true answer is that they are blinded by greed. look for example at all the people who gave money to bernie madoff. Years before he was 'outed' by his son, a reporter at Barron's, a major financial paper, wrote an article questioning madoffs returns ("Those returns have been so consistent that some on the Street have begun speculating that Madoff's market-making operation subsidizes and smooths his hedge-fund returns."). Anyone who was interested could have found it. There were also other warning signs, such as big firms that would not invest with him. Yet very wealthy people, presumably with money managers, all ignored these signs. Why? Simple greed, for the most part. [barrons article from 2001](_URL_0_) - he was arrested in 2008. [another link if that's paywalled, although this might be too.](_URL_1_) |
Please explain the current situation in the Middle East simply. | Various peoples have been fighting in that area for thousands of years. After WW2 the area was partitioned up without regard to the local's heritage and things got worse. Add lots of oil money to the equation and it's explosive. |
The calculation which dictates the universe is 73% dark energy 23% dark matter 4% ordinary matter. | The other answer is good but to make it less metaphorical and still easy to understand: Mass has gravity. Theres not enough visible mass to explain the gravitational effects we see around the universe. Theres lots of theories, ranging from our understanding of gravity not being correct to alternate dimensions to black holes but we're not certain. However we've never encountered any parricles that can account for the phenomenon. |
Why does it matter how much water is needed to produce a kg of meat? Doesn't it all go back into the water cycle again? | Sure, it does, but 'the water cycle' doesn't just revolve around Bob's Cattle farm. The fact that Bob's water eventually makes its way back to the sea doesn't mean Bob's neighbor is going to get an equivalent amount of rain, or that the people downstream from Bob are going to drink cattle pee. We may not be reducing the amount of water *on the entire earth* but you can still exhaust local supply of potable water, and there's not necessarily a 1 to 1 replacement 'strategy' in place by nature. Local drinkable water may rely on expensive technologies to create (desalination) or exhaustible local sources (aquifers) and the like. You can definitely exhaust these without removing all the water from the water cycle. |
The whole "registered Republican, Democrat or Independent" thing. | When you register to vote, you can choose which political party you want to be affiliated with. Those lists are sent to the party organizations so they can contact you, and in some states they qualify you to vote in the primary elections for those parties. It's mostly just a convenient time to sign up for party membership, since you're already thinking about the voting system. Republican and Democrat aren't the only choices, they're just the only choices that matter. You can register with the Green Party or the American Communist Party or any other party that exists in your state (or not register with any party), but other parties aren't ever going to win a presidential election in the current system, so anyone that's not registered Democratic or Republican gets reported as an independent in the media. |
why is it when you get stabbed by a pencil it leaves a blue mark forever? | You might wanna check it, because if it is there after more than a couple of weeks it means that there is probably something stuck beneath your skin. It isnt dangerous by itself most of the time, but after some time it will be really hard to get out if you have to. |
How breast and bra sizes work | Heed my warning friend! I currently have 5 bras in my bureau. 1 is a 42B, 1 is a 36C, 1 is a 40D, 1 is a 42C, and for shits and giggles 1 is a 38DD. All of these fit me, all are comfortable, and all are different brands. Bra sizing is fucked. I can't just go to a store, find my 'allegedly' correct size, buy it, and expect it to fit. Don't buy your lady a bra. Instead, get a gift certificate to a lingerie boutique (a nice one, not some trashy place, ya derp), give it to your lady, and eyebrows wiggling with a charming smile ask her to go shopping together on an adventure. Panties. Sploosh. Win. |
What would happen if the bombing of the Afghan hospital is in fact a war crime? Who would be punished, and how? | I'm thinking a lot of speeches, angry rants, and strongly worded emails and memos....and not much else, sadly. |
Why are some insects like cockroaches and ants afraid of humans while others like flies and moths are not? | Because you're anthropomorphising them? It's not bravery, you're just thinking about their behaviour in human terms :) **Cockroach:** I'm nocturnal and only come out of my burrow at night. If I can see light it means someone's dug my burrow up so I better escape and hide. **Human interpretation:** Coward! **Ants:** If some large animal is moving around I'm going to go all crazy and run around biting things TO PROTECT THE QUEEN. **Human interpretation:** Berserker. **Flies:** I'm active during the day and I can react so fast I can easily get out of the way of something trying to eat me. **Human interpretation:** Brave! **Moths:** I'm camouflaged, if I don't move they can't see me. **Human interpretation:** Brave! (Edit: Added a smiley as people are reading it in a negative tone) |
Why do tea bags say ‘Do Not Microwave’? | Because you are doing it wrong! You are supposed to put tea into boiling water all at once, not slowly heat it up with the water. It does taste different that way. EDIT: To be clear, you don't put tea in water while it is still boiling, you bring the water to a boil, let it cool a bit, then put it in. |
Does the Surface Tension of Water change (increase/decrease), as the surface area changes? | No but the ratio of the effects of surface area can change as the volume increases. Temperature does affect surface tension. Surface tension is a result of molecules of water forming stronger bonds with other water molecules than with air. Therefore, breaking the surface of the water requires breaking some of those bonds. The bonds between water molecules are weaker when the water molecules move around really fast and spend less time bonded - as in hot water. Once water is boiling, all of the heat energy goes to breaking the water bonds and the surface tension is zero. |
How are tracking numbers created and how long will it be until UPS, FedEx and USPS run out? | Tracking numbers are randomized numbers and letters, typically in a HexDec system that allows for 16 character numbers, and are typically like in UPS's case, 18 characters long following the 2 character preamble.. This equates to a combination that is as follows: 18^18 = DAMN! or 39,346,408,075,296,537,575,424. That alone give you so many different numbers, that it is impossible to run out of tracking numbers. For USPS, they use a 20 digit Number system with the first 4 numbers predesignated. so 4 + 10^18 = 1000000000000000004. That is exactly 1 Sextillion combinations. Tl;DR; we can track everything. edit for the UPS snob at the bottom. |
Does Space Smell Like Anything? | apparently space *does* have a distinctive smell, it has been described as being similar to seared steak, hot metal, and welding fumes. > It is hard to describe this smell; it is definitely not the olfactory equivalent to describing the palette sensations of some new food as "tastes like chicken." The best description I can come up with is metallic; a rather pleasant sweet metallic sensation. It reminded me of my college summers where I labored for many hours with an arc welding torch repairing heavy equipment for a small logging outfit. It reminded me of pleasant sweet smelling welding fumes. That is the smell of space. [here](_URL_0_) is an article where some astronauts discuss the phenomenon |
Why does a candle make smoke when blown out but not when it's lit? | The smoke you see is the vaporized wax that is the actual fuel of the candle's flame. |
the shower water is sometimes too hot and sometimes never hot enough. I don't share a hot water heater. Why is the temperature inconsistent? | if you're only using one handle to dial in the temp you may just have variations due to pressure. in my experience, the higher the water pressure, the more the cold water. since both cold water and hot water are combining in the shower head, the cold might be displacing the hot. if you reduce the pressure (don't put it on "full blast") you may get more hot water /at least, that's been the case for me. |
What happens to your body when you get winded? | Your diaphragm is what's causing the issue in cases like this. Getting hit hard enough causes the muscle to spasm, which prevents breathing from being possible. The diaphragm is the muscle that you use when you breath, as it decreases pressure in your lungs that pulls in air. When the diaphragm can't move, you can't breath. |
Why couldn't I rob a bank, serve my jail time, then just have all the money to spend? | Judges always file a restitution order. Which means you are required to pay back what you stole. |
Why do we shelter kids from what the real world is like instead of teaching them the reality of it? | Because life in reality is extremely complicated. Children's ability to comprehend the world around them is something that develops gradually as they age. So we simplify things greatly at first and gradually expose the child to the real world more and more as they become more capable of understanding it. |
What's the difference between semiotics and structuralism? | Easy version: Semiotics is the study of signs and signifiers. Structuralism is a critical framework built on a particular theory of semiotics. |
Why isn't a dimensionless number negligible in a calculation if it theoretically has no physical properties | The numbers don't have to have a physical correspondence to nevertheless reflect physical reality. Pi is not negligible, it's a derived ratio. It's required to make the math work. It represents a relationship between certain quantities. That's the whole point of these constants - they were determined based on relationships we understand, and using them is fundamental to making the numbers some out correctly. |
Why is it sometimes easier to remember a word in one's second language? | As someone bilingual, I'd say that sometimes some words more accurately represent what you're trying to say in one language than the other. More accurate! |
Why does a video on YouTube take so much longer to load than a porn video that's 4 times as long? | The porn company knows you're not gonna last the extra 5 seconds it takes a video to load. |
When a scammer gives me the account number to transfer funds, why can't we just notify the police and have them arrested? | Aside from the fact that you have no proof (unless you record all your phone calls, which is a whole set of legal rules in and of itself), they are often in other countries. You're asking for international law enforcement cooperation (often between countries with little framework for such cooperation) on no solid evidence for a crime that any fool can commit. |
Why are there so many sub genres of music that are never heard of or talked about? | Everything ever has way more depth than you would expect. There's enthusiasts for everything that can talk for hours about a small aspect that you never gave a second thought to. Like favorite text editor, wine vintage, or metallurgic composition of a knife. |
If Girl Scout Cookies were created as a fundraising tool why are they only sold in a really small window of time each year? | If its only available in short supply/period of time, you get to jack up the price, making it very cost effective. |
How often has obesity genetical factors, and how easy it it to battle it? | Genetics determine where you store fat and have some say in how prone you are to compulsive eating, but ultimately the base metabolic rates are about the same for each person. If you eat less than you burn, you'll lose weight. Genetics cannot defy basic thermodynamics. Consider that the obesity rates have skyrocketed in the last few decades. If it was genetic that would imply that a "fat gene" appeared and spread through the entire population in just a single generation, which isn't possible. |
How does the "one country, two systems" method of goverance work between Hong Kong and China? Are citizens of Hong Kong also technically citizens of China? | People from Hong Kong are not just "technically" citizens of China--Hong Kong is now considered an integral part of the territory of China. However, the Chinese government has committed to granting Hong Kong autonomy for at least fifty years, meaning that the local government has more power than other local governments and Hong Kong does not have to follow the strict economic laws the other parts of the country do. |
Why airline tickets in the US are so damn expensive? | That's funny. Here in Canada we think of the US as a cheap country for flying. One member of parliament once pointed out that it was cheaper sometimes for him to fly from his home in BC to Singapore than to fly to his workplace in Ottawa. |
What is existentialism? | Existentialism is largely summed up in the quote "existence precedes essence." Life is devoid of inherent meaning aside from the human existence (in your case, *your* existence). Often accompanied by sn early stage crisis (the existential crisis) as we grapple with our existence in a world devoid of meaning. The fear we get from the ultimate freedom to create meaning. Papa existentialist? Probably Sartre. Grandpappy existentialist? Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. This is super brief as it is on my phone. If you have any questions, I'll try to get to them when I'm on my computer. |
If I was driving at 100km/h and crashed into a car in front that was going 90km/h, would the impact be equal to crashing into something stationary at 10km/h? | Yes, the initial impact would be like 10km/h. However, if the initial impact causes loss of control (which it might, depending on the exact nature of the impact), the following impact with the scenery will *not* be like 10km/h! |
Why are there different research funding organizations for different types of cancer? | We know the root cause of cancer, cells that multiply uncontrollably due to some sort of mutation or defect. Each type of cancer requires different methods to treat however due to the nature of the type of cell infected. |
Considering all the different elements of sound, how is audio translated into binary so that a computer can understand what it's processing? | As complex as sound.. uh.. *sounds*, really your ear drum is interpreting all those various sounds into one wave form. That is because you have one ear drum in each year, and it has only so many dimensions. It's really a matter of how much pressure, and how fast, the ear drum is vibrating. When we first started studying sound, we literally just looked at how our ear drums vibrated, and replicated that with analogue technology. It's just a wave, up and down. So with computers, the binary is just representing that *single* wave. There are a LOT of ways of describing this in binary, depending on how much *fidelity* you want to the actual wave form. Basically, the binary representation will describe in a certain time interval where the wave goes. It goes up, it goes down, it stays flat. So basically / - \ That's just three little symbols that can represent all of sound. |
Why is fish (or sea food) so much softer than mammal meat? | Basically fish have less collagen that attaches muscle to bone because fish don't need the skeleton to support them because they swim in the water every day. Also their muscle fibers are shorter that's why when you eat fully cooked fish you notice the pieces fall apart in consistent chunks. |
Why does my skin feel so sensitive and why do my muscles ache when I have a cold? | One of the main reasons that your body aches when you are sick, like with a cold is that your body's immmune system is producing plenty of anti-bodies. These anti-bodies also produce histamines which typically dilates (widens) blood vessel near an infection, this allows for more of the body's defences to get at the infection. There are histamine receptors in blood vessels that cause them to dilate. As these chemicals are released into your blood stream they can end up in your muscles or other body parts. Various body systems can have receptors to histamine that can then trigger a pain receptor. In addition to histamines there are biochemicals called cytokines that are released when the body has an immune response that are also known to trigger a biochemical pathway that can affect pain receptors. TL;DR The body's immune system sometimes trigger pain receptors or make them more sensitive when they release histamines. |
If cracking your knuckles is pockets of air escaping, how does the air get in and where does it go? | It doesn't go anywhere. When you crack your knuckles you stretch out the sacks of fluid that act as cushions but they don't break. Stretching them creates a vacuum inside which pulls any dissolved gasses out. That's the cracking sound, the bubbles just stay inside that sack and eventually dissolve back into the fluid. |
Why is blackmail illegal? | its coercion or extortion involving a threat of harm or slander. youre basically demanding money under threat of harm. |
How is disney not a monopoly? | To be a monopoly, you have to control all (or nearly all) of the commerce in your given market. Microsoft was thought to be a monopoly in the past because they controlled ~95% of the PC OS market. Disney is in the entertainment market. Even after the merger, they won't even control 50% of that market, much less the > 75% you really need to have a serious discussion about a company being a monopoly. |
Why do flies and gnats consistently bother the same person even after being shooed away? | They're attracted to the smell, or the color, or maybe they're just jerks. |
Who creates the, I assume mostly not real, computer programs we see characters using in films and are they actually functional? | I would guess it's just added post production via a cgi program. No reason to write a fake program when all you need is something to just look like a program sense nobody has to use it outside of a scripted scene |
If our skin cells are constantly dying and being replaced how do tattoos remain on our skin forever? | > If our skin cells are constantly dying and being replaced how do tattoos remain on our skin forever? The ink is injected *below* the skin that is constantly being sloughed off. |
What does it mean it mean to be "in shape" physically, and what does my body actually do if I'm in shape? | "In shape" is just another way of saying that you exercise with some regularity and your diet is good; you're not obese. Being too much or too less of anything is detrimental to your health, and being in shape is that balance for someone where they are not obese and scoffing down processed foods 24/7, and it provides your body with loads of good stuff like increased lung capacity, low blood pressure, etc all of the stuff they tell you why you need to exercise. Being "in shape" has no universal standard. For example, I rarely go to the gym, and my primary form of exercise comes from jogging every morning and simply being on my feet for hours every day. (NYC life FTW). My diet is mainly light foods like fruits/vegetables though I eat a bit of steaks/protein a lot as well. So for me, I consider myself "in shape" because I'm not "fat", I can run a few miles easily, and I eat right for the most part. Someone else might require something different altogether though. |
Would we have to brush our teeth if we consumed no sugar? | Yes, you would want to remove acids as well, as they also cause tooth problems. Brushing your teeth can also help remove pieces of food stuck in your teeth, which would otherwise rot. This is an area where flossing is helpful as well, which you should also do everyday. |
Why do people say "What is -----" on jeopardy | The guy who invented jeopardy was on the daily show once, and he explained it as follows. He said that jeopardy was one of the first attempts to have a real quiz show after the big quiz show scandals earlier in the 20th century. Those involved shows were the producers would give one of the contestants the answers in advance, to guarantee "interesting" winners. When he was trying to pitch jeopardy, TV executives were still wary of these kinds of scandals---not that they thought jeopardy would involve cheating, but that people wouldn't watch trivia because they'd assume it was rigged---and so he came up with the idea of "answering in the form of a question." It allowed them to do gimmicky ads saying that you didn't have to worry about cheating because *everyone* got the answer already (in the clue on the board), and they weren't looking for answers, they were looking for questions. |
Why do some people (like me) get really squirmish about things like Veins, the inner mechanics of Reproductive organs or blood and injections, etc ? | It sounds like you might be experiencing a vasovagal syncope, which is the mechanism that causes people to faint at the sight of blood. You get this because you are a wimp. No, actually this happens because of a nervous system malfunction. Rather than activating the sympathetic nervous system which would be the "fight-or-flight" response, it activates the parasympathetic nervous system which is the "rest-and-digest" response. Rather than getting amped up for a hand to hand fight to the death you are more likely to poo your pants and cry. And weirdly, get an erection. Shitting oneself isn't a terrible evolutionary response to danger per se; deer do it all the time, as apparently do opossum (the "play dead" thing is only part of it, as if you catch them in a cage be prepared for grassy diarrhea all over). Of course this probably isn't very comforting but that is probably why it happens to you. |
Why did the english language rename other countries? Ex german=duetsch | It's called endonym and exonym. Endonym is a name people use to describe themselves, exonym is what others describe them. Every language and every country has endonyms and exonyms. In english, they come either from the way people pronounce a place (Spain versus España), or they come from other languages (Greece is a latin name for the country, and the english adapted it. In local language it is called Hellas, in Turkish it is Yunanistan, in.. arabic I think, it's called Rum, etc). |
why toasted bread tastes different than regular bread | No. When you heat bread, chemical reactions take place on the surface of the bread that fundamentally change it. See the recent question about the Maillard reaction for a little more, if you want. |
Why is it that I see so many surfing videos that show surfers sitting out in the water with no waves? | Often we wait behind the waves to prepare, find a good wave or take a break. Then you move up and "drop into" the wave. Waves may come in sets of three for example and you want to ride the best one so you wait. Sometimes you wait a bit. |
How exactly does my neighbors property effect my property value? | property value is just a guess at what an average consumer will be willing to pay. If you have a nice house, but it's surrounded by meth labs, no one will want to pay very much to buy it. |
Why is it that so many people remember how blue the sky was on 9/11? | The contrast was striking - over and over again, all day long, I remember people remarking on it - this massive and horrible event, on such an especially beautiful day. And certainly in NYC, most of us didn't go to or stay at work all day, either, so that may also contribute to our noting and remembering what a "nice" day it was outside. |
Why are unhealthy foods seemingly always less expensive than healthier alternatives? | Less than 1% of federal subsidies go towards fruits and vegetable. With 63% going to meat and dairy and 20% to grains, which is mostly used to feed livestock. Hence, the true market price of unhealthy food are artificially suppressed by federal subsidies. source: [_URL_0_](_URL_0_) |
Shakespeare's genius | Nobody popularized memes like Shakespeare, ever, in history. Think of all the little words and phrases you have made up... does anyone else use them? Does everyone one else use them? [HERE IS A PARTIAL LIST](_URL_0_) of words and phrases that have no record of appearing before Shakespeare used them. And they left out "eyeball". Yep, Shakespeare has the first known use of the word "eyeball" |
How the IRS would tax the winner of the power ball for the foreseeable future | If you took it as a lump-sum prize they would tax you 350-400 mil as you say, but after that you wouldn't be taxed on it as income anymore because its already been taxed. It is not "income" just because you still have it next year, the only way it would continue to be taxed is if you invested it you would be taxed on capital gains (so technically it isn't even the prize money being taxed, just the money you GAIN) |
How does the mouth deal with things hot enough to burn most other parts of the body? | If it's hot enough to burn other parts of the body, it'll burn your mouth, too. In fact it'll probably burn your mouth easier than other parts of the body. |
Why is bathroom water so much better than kitchen water? | Clearly because you are a dog. Really tho..."Most people like to drink water that is very cold. In the bathroom, the water is often very cold because the person getting a drink first uses the water closet (toilet) and flushes. This starts the flow of cold water. Then they wash their hands, which continues to flow the cold water. By the time they take a drink, the water is nice and cold. This fools the brain into thinking it tastes better." Kitchen water on the other hand is often left sitting in you pipes for long periods of time. Which is often why people open the tap and let it run for a few minutes before getting water. The colder the water the better the brain thinks it tastes. |
Why is allergy medicine so expensive? | It isn't. Here in the UK I can buy a month's supply of once a day antihistamines (loratidine or cetirizine) for less than £2 (less than $3.34USD) and a generic equivalent of "Afrin" (oxymetolozine) for £1. Basically I can buy antihistamine tablets + sodium cromoglycate eye drops + a nasal spray (either beclometasone or oxymetolozine) for less than £10 a month ($16.70USD). Sorry to once again point this out, but Americans get screwed in the healthcare service department. Most people here in the UK buy their allergy medicines from pharmacies and supermarkets, etc. Very few people get them on prescription and that's usually because they get free prescriptions or they need prescription only medicines. |
It seems that when devastating disasters happen in North America, less than a hundred are killed, but how come in countries in the Middle East, Asia and the Far East suffer far more casualties for similar disasters? | that's easy, it comes down to primarily two things: - Money - the number of people living there (population density) While the US are huge, they're not as densely populated as other areas, especially in Asia or the Middle East. In Texas you got an average of 40 people per square kilometer (or roughly 100 per square mile). The worlds average is about 60 (thats including the deserts, greenland, etc). Pakistan for example has a density of about 250 people per square kilometer. And then, more money means better houses, better infrastructure, better governments with better (and better enforced) safety regulations when it comes to building/maintaining stuff. It means having the option to leave an endangered area and go somewhere else, etc. |
Why is -3 not an applicable square root of 9? | The square root of 9 is ±3. The principal square root of 9 is 3. Usually you use the things that make sense. I don't understand your problem, but usually when solving problems like x^2 = 9 you write that |x| = 3 x = -3,3. This problem has 2 roots. Both of them satisfy the equation x^2 = 9. |
Why is water transport so inefficient? Why can a mid-level car easily reach 200+kph, while you need a 1000+hp offshore boat to reach the same speed? | Essentially friction and surface area. I'm no expert but look how much of a boat/ship is actually making contact with the water, now look at how much surface area your tires on your car take up, a hell of a lot less. I'm not a smart man but there's my two cents. I'm sure someone will explain it better. |
Why is longitude measured in non-parallel lines coming from the poles instead of in parallel circles emanating from the Prime Meridian and IDL? | One of these ways is really easy and convenient for plotting a map and navigating. The other is really, really, really annoying. If you plotted the parallel circles on a flat map, you would get two sets of either concentric ellipses or circles depending on the projection you use, and you couldn't keep your East/West coordinates fixed if you traveled due North/South. |
Why does food turn black when it burns? | Burning could also be called carbonising. I'm sure there's someone who can explain better than me, but burning food is the exact same as burning a lump of wood. Burning is a chemical reaction called combustion, and I can't remember any exact formulas but it uses oxygen, along with the organic compounds in the wood or food (generally composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with some other fun things in there). One of the by products of the reaction is carbon dioxide which is just released into the air, and another is solid carbon, which is the black stuff left behind. Sorry if this answer is a bit long but basically; TLDR: it goes black because the combustion reaction uses up most of the other parts of the compounds in the food, and what's left is solid carbon which is black. Edit: as a few people have pointed out, it is incomplete combustion that produces solid carbon, which is the result of imperfect combustion conditions, for example not enough oxygen available for the reaction. |
Why are beef hotdogs not brown? | Hotdogs contain sodium nitrate as part of their curing process. Nitrates make meat pink. In fact besides hot dogs they are the reason why corned beef is the color it is, and are commonly found in things like bacon, sausages, and other 'cured' meats. |
Slow charge vs fast charge overnight | It doesn't matter. It automatically regulates power supply to prevent anything from damaging the battery; for instance, when the phone reaches 100% it stops charging, and only starts charging when it falls below like 98%-95%. |
Why does protesting work? You see massive nationwide protests when there is civil unrest, but why can't the government just ignore it until the protestors give up? | Protesting isn't about getting the government or entity you are protesting to change because of the protesters. They will always be dismissed as a minority opinion and troublemakers. It is about getting a larger group of constituents (the ones who would never actually go to the protest) interested with the issue. It is about attention and media coverage and creating a groundswell. You hope by having 100 people show up you get 5000 to write their congressman. You hope by staying in place for a month that you get 50,000 to care. In short you hope to influence a larger group, create pressure. |
What happens to the pieces of a sliver that break off and can't be removed and therefore stay under my skin? | Usually they work to the surface over time as new layers of skin grow from beneath. The human body is pretty amazing at ridding itself of foreign bodies. |
Why are cats (and other animals) noses wet? | Because they often lick their noses. Think about how it smells when it rains. It's a pretty strong, distinct smell, isn't it? It isn't the smell of the rain that's sticking out - it's everything else. Moisture makes it easier to smell things we normally would have missed. With dogs and cats, it's the same exact thing (I believe). They keep their noses moist because a wet nose fine-tunes their ability to smell. |
Why did everyone get upset when the Pope called it The Armenian "Genocide"? | Because the Turks deny anything happened. 2 million Armenians just got "lost" in the shuffle after ww1/collapse of the Ottoman Empire Most everyone else isn't buying that story |
How does water get stuck in your ear? | Am I going crazy? OP asked why it happens and everyone is giving old wives tales about how to get the water out. One guy just went on a rant about not using Q-tips Anyway, to actually answer the question, it has to do with cohesion, aka surface tension. Little water droplets basically get into the small spaces on your ear, and are held in by the surface tension that holds the droplets together. |
how do fashion designers gain fame when they start out | You know how people always laugh at those really outlandish outfits at fashion shows that nobody would ever wear? That's how fashion designers get famous. They make unbelievable, over the top outfits to grab attention, then once they have it they use their renown to sell things people actually wear like jeans or t-shirts. |
Why are coffee tables so low? | Most coffee tables are level with the sitting height of a couch or love seat. They are at a perfect height for resting your feet on them when your wife isn't home. |
If our brains use 50-70% of our total energy, will keeping it active result in fat loss/staying leaner? | Those are excessively high percentages, but yes there is some indication that tasking the brain will burn more energy. |
why do some people not 'know' how to swim and drown? | Humans are born with the instinct to swim, or at least stay afloat. It's lost after time. If it isn't taught to them or kept in their mind, they forget how to. Not to get all preachy, but some people simply don't teach their children how to swim. They then grow up not teaching their kids how to swim, or purposely keeping them from swimming because *they're* afraid. I think you're discounting how much effort went into teaching you how to swim from adults. |
Why did this weekends reddit super story lose up votes over time? | I think people are starting to question the validity of the story. The live stream from the PI got a lot of people calling bullshit |
when did it become gramatically acceptable to put the dollar sign after the numeric as in "10$"? | I've never seen that before. Where are you seeing it? |
What was the possible cause of the dancing plague ,and considering the fact that this disease was referred to as a "mania", was it a physical or mental disorder? | Modern theories include (1) group poisoning with a naturally occurring chemical that can grow in rotting grain, (2) mass hysteria caused by recent problems in the area that had people afraid of starvation, and (3) encouragement from the authorities who strangely thought that encouraging it would stop it. |
how did man figure out Wells? | It was just something that was learned over time. Someone found a spring. Then water stopped coming out of the spring. Someone then dug a little big to gind out where the water went and the spring started back up. After this happens a few times someone figured out to dig in the ground to find water. |
What considerations are taken into account when an establishment decides to sign with Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi for an exclusive supplier contract? | Generally three things: 1) Which drinks are more popular in that area, Coke (Coca-Cola, Sprite, etc) or Pepsi (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, etc)? 2) Are there any nearby restaurants that have an exclusive agreement with one company or the other within a certain range? (This is rare; nether company has much interest in stopping *anyone* from buying their syrup.) 3) If the restaurant has a parent company, they may have an overall deal with one of the companies that pretty much mandates their outlets sell that company's product. (For example, pretty much all McDonald's and Burger Kings sell Coke products.) |
How does the ketogenic diet work, and do is actually cause more weight loss that low calorie? | Yes. Part of it is that when eating a ketogenic diet, the food you're eating is more filling becuase you've cut out starch and carbs. So people end up eating less calories anyway. |
How did the Polynesians have enough food and water to travel such great distances in canoes and why did they do it? | Carrying enough food isn't really a problem, especially 2,000 or 3,000 years ago, when there were lots more fish in the sea. I sailed 12,800 km, from Panama to New Caledonia on a 11-meter sloop. We left with 100 liters of fresh water for 4 adults. We caught rain running off the mainsail and put it in the tank. Never was short of water. We towed two fishing lures the entire time. We caught good sized tuna every other day, usually two at the same time. We would catch one or two dorado every 5th day or so. As we emptied the jars of vegetables and other foods, we would refill with fish and a court bouillon, then water-bath can the jars on the boat's stove. We arrived in Noumea with all the jars full of fish, which were given away to the skipper's friends. |
Why it's so difficult to make Xbox 360/PS3 emulators for PC. | Well first off an Emulator for a game console is a software that is replicating the hardware that is being used in the console and its operating system. Old machines we're easy to do this with such as the GameCube and N64 because they we're inexpensive and simple machines. Microsoft and Sony however have spent money and time protecting their software and hardware and actively do so. This makes it difficult for someone to accurately replicate their safety precautions and encryption data. Once the 360 and ps3 have lost their spotlight and support, the hardware and software will stop receiving updates and will be easier to replicate. Also microsoft and sony lawyers won't be so quick to threaten anyone who tries ;) |
- Why do the ads on youtube load immediately with awesome quality but then the video I actually want to watch won't load or takes forever to buffer? | The videos used for ads are stored on their own server locality in relation to your location. Since YouTube makes its money off of ads, they have to make sure the ads load. |
2 stroke vs 4 stroke engine | Four stroke- Suck, squeeze, bang, blow. Flow of air/fuel and exhaust controlled by valves. Two stroke- Suckbang, Squeezeblow. Flow of air/fuel/oil (oil for lubrication, they don't tend to have oil sumps) and exhaust gasses is typically controlled by ports in the cylinder wall, though IIRC there are valved two-strokes. |
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